What’s New

During the fall of 2017 Rachel presented the four part webinar series “The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing: What Environmental Professionals Should Know About Economics.” Covering topics such as tools economists use to value the environment, cost-benefit analysis, and how to communicate the information you discover to stakeholders, the series educated attendees on how economics can be used to help support and promote environmental and sustainability issues.

Rachel gave a talk, “Communicating the Value of Sustainability in an Adverse Political Climate,” on April 12, 2017, at Peloton Labs in Portland, Maine

rbouvier consulting was named a “Successful Green Small Business” by the Portland chapter of SCORE!

rbouvier consulting worked with the Friends of Fort Gorges, a Civil War era fort in Casco Bay, to design a visitor survey and estimate the economic importance of the Fort to the local economy.

rbouvier consulting worked with the Nature Conservancy (Maine chapter) to analyze the costs of installing and maintaining a “stream smart” culvert with the costs of installing and maintaining a more traditional, “non fish-friendly” culvert.

rbouvier consulting worked with Reed & Reed, Inc. (a general contracting company in Maine) to lay out the economic advantages associated with generating 100 MW of electricity from wind power, versus importing the same amount of energy from Hydro Quebec.

Assisted the Public Advocate in Maine by conducting the first ever needs assessment in Maine for low-income electricity consumers. The project involved determining the number of households in each utility’s service area in Maine, and calculating the percentage of income they spent on electricity. Download the briefing.

drought

Maine Voices: Lessons to be learned about drought and outdated water laws, published in the Portland Press Herald, June 28, 2015.

rbouvier consulting worked closely with the Friends of the Presumpscot River to research and report on the economic benefits of restoring native fish runs in Maine and New England.. The report was released to the press and the wider public in mid-May, 2015. Read the report and learn more about the Friends.

Rachel presented on the economic impacts of Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standards, at the Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine’s forum in March, 2015. Jeff Marks, executive director of E2Tech, said of Rachel’s presentation, “Rachel Bouvier provided a balanced perspective on renewable energy incentives – are they investments or entitlements? – to more than 100 business and government leaders in Augusta getting ready to tackle these issues head-on in the 127th Maine Legislative Session!” Learn more about E2Tech and download the presentation.